Bi-pack

1901

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Adolf A. Gurtner

Subtractive 2 color: Bi-pack, still photography

A. Gurtner (Eng. P. 7924/03; U.S.P. 730454), used a front element that was sensitive only to the blue, and a rear element that was sensitive up to but not including the red. He was the first person to suggest that the two films or plates be placed ...

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Source: U.S.P. 730454

1 Image

Monopack stripping

1903

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John H. Smith

Subtractive 3 color: Monopack, stripping, still photography

“To offset the possible effects of poor contact between the various members of the tripack, J. H. Smith coated the emulsions directly one on top of the other, but with an insulating layer of collodion between them. In this manner there was ...

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Source: U.S.P. 781469, Sept. 13,1904

1 Image

Jumeaux/Davidson

1903

|

Benjamin Jumeaux and W. L. Davidson

Additive 3 color: Prism

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Credit: Cinémathèque française, conservatoire des techniques, Paris.
Source: Wall, E.J. (1925): The History of Three-color Photography. Boston: American Photographic Pub. Co.

2 Images

Prism

1905

|

Otto Pfenniger (often referenced as Pfenninger)

Additive 3 color: Prism

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Source: Wall, E.J. (1925): The History of Three-color Photography. Boston: American Photographic Pub. Co.

1 Image

Procédé Colombier

1908

|

F. de Colombier

Subtractive 3 color: Tri-pack

“M. F. de Colombier appears to have been the first to suggest the application of this system to cinematography, and like so many French patents it is a little indefinite in phraseology. Three films were employed representing the same view and ...

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Audibert

1911

|

Rodolphe Berthon and Maurice Audibert

Additive 3 color: Prism

“R. Berthon and M. Audibert patented a method of obtaining a virtual image by means of an anterior lens and prisms or mirrors. This idea was further improved upon in E.P. 17,023, 1913. In F.P. 458,040 Audibert proposed to use a negative front lens ...

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Credit: Cinémathèque française, conservatoire des techniques, Paris.
Credit: Cinémathèque française, conservatoire des techniques, Paris.

2 Images

Colorgraph / Cinecolorgraph

1912

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Arturo Hernandez-Mejia

Subtractive 2 color: Beam-splitter, double-coated film

“The principle of the subtractive colour process was described first by Louis Ducos du Hauron in 1868. Although eminently suitable for colour motion pictures, the principle could not be applied until means were found of producing several colour ...

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Source: Ryan, Roderick T. (1977): A History of Motion Picture Color Technology. London: Focal Press, p. 67.

1 Image

Brewster

1915

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Percy Douglas Brewster

Subtractive 2 color: Perforated mirror as beam-splitter, duplitized film

“Following the premises of one of William Friese-Greene’s systems, this two-colour subtractive process required that two reels of film be printed in parallel through a lens fitted with a prism that split light in two directions, through red ...

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Kodachrome Two-color 1915, after 1930 renamed Fox Nature Color

1915

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John George Capstaff (Kodak Research Laboratories)

Subtractive 2 color process: Beam-splitter, double-coated film

The Kodachrome process was invented in 1913 by John G. Capstaff for still photography and subsequently adapted to motion pictures. For the process two frames were advanced simultaneously, one located above the other. The light passed either through two lenses or through a beam-splitter, fitted with red and green filters. The release print was exposed through a beam-splitter whereby the alternate frames were projected onto either side of double-coated stock. After development by a usual b/w process, the film was tanned to harden the exposed areas. The soft areas were dyed red-orange and blue-green respectively.

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Two-Color Kodachrome Print (USA ca. 1925 to 1927, Anonymous). Credit: George Eastman Museum. Photographs of the Kodachrome two-color double coated stock from 1925 and 1927 by Olivia Kristina Stutz, ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors.
Source: Eggert, John (1932): Kurzer Überblick über den Stand der Farbenkinematographie. In:Bericht über den VIII. Internationalen Kongress für wissenschaftliche und angewandte Photographie, Dresden 1931, pp. 214-222. Leipzig: J. A. Barth.
Magnification 5x. Credit: photomicrograph by Silvana Konermann.
Magnification 10x. Credit: photomicrograph by Silvana Konermann.
Magnification 20x. Credit: photomicrograph by Silvana Konermann.
Kodachrome Two-color test from 1922, YouTube channel of the George Eastman House.

350 Images in 12 Galleries

Talkicolor

1917

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Percy James Pearce; Dr Anthony Bernardi (Talkicolor Ltd.)

Additive 2 color: Alternately stained

“Two-colour additive process Talkicolor was developed by Percy James Pearce along with Dr Anthony Bernardi who was also involved in the development of Raycol. The process was funded mainly by the author Elinor Glyn through her company Elinor ...

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Knowing Men (GB 1930, Elinor Glyn), negative. Credit: Courtesy of BFI National Archive. Photograph by Barbara Flueckiger.

3 Images in 1 Gallery

Polychromide

1918

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Aaron OR Aron Hamburger

Subtractive 2 color: Beam-splitter, later bi-pack, mordant dye

“Polychromide, a two-color subtractive process invented in 1918 by Aron Hamburger, achieved limited commercial success overseas, and was occasionally employed in England as late as 1933. Originally an orthochromatic and a panchromatic negative were ...

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Polychromide samples from the Kodak Film Samples Collection at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford. Credit: National Science and Media Museum Bradford. Photographs by Barbara Flueckiger in collaboration with Noemi Daugaard.
Credit: Brian Pritchard
Source: Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 279.

66 Images in 2 Galleries

Cinekrome

1919

|

(Kuz, Wheeler & Moffat Corp.)

Additive 2 color: Beam-splitter

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Prizma II

1919

|

William van Doren Kelley (Prizma Company)

|

United States of America

Subtractive 2 color: Toning on double coated film

“In its final form Prizma made use of duplitized positive film. As in previous Prizma systems, the original negatives were alternate frame sequential exposures. The Prizma negative was printed on both sides of the positive film in a special ...

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The two colors visible at a splice. Credit: EYE Film Institute Amsterdam. Film: [Kleurenpracht].
Credit: George Eastman House. Preserved by Carole Fodor, Haghefilm Digitaal fellow and graduate of The L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation. Film: A Day with John Burroughs (Prizma, 1919).
Credit: George Eastman House. Preserved by Carole Fodor, Haghefilm Digitaal fellow and graduate of The L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation. Film: A Day with John Burroughs (Prizma, 1919).
Credit: George Eastman House Motion Picture Department Collection. Film: The Land of the Great Spirit (1919).
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Orange.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Orange.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Orange.

399 Images in 14 Galleries

Douglass Color No. 2

1919

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Leon Forrest Douglass

Subtractive 2 color: Separations, multi-layer prints

“Douglass Color No. 2 (1919). The two negatives of the Douglass Color system No. 1 were printed on a positive. In this updated version of the process, rather than projecting the frames through red and green filters, both latent images were ...

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Zoechrome

1920

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T.A. Mills

Subtractive 3 color: Multi-layer printing

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Credit: Cinémathèque française, conservatoire des techniques, Paris.
Source: Coe, Brian (1981): The History of Movie Photography. Westfield, N.J.: Eastview Editions.
Credit: Collection Gert Koshofer, Bergisch Gladbach (Germany).

16 Images in 1 Gallery

Technicolor No. II

1922

|

(Technicolor)

Subtractive 2 color: 2 toned films cemented

The first subtractive 2 color process introduced by Technicolor captured the incoming light through a beam splitter with red and green filters also. However, in contrast to the first Technicolor process, the two b/w images were recorded on one negative strip. This was achieved by the pull-down of two frames simultaneously, a process that required the double speed in the camera. These two frames were arranged in pairs, whereby the green record was inverted up-side down (see image).

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The Phantom of the Opera (USA 1925, Rupert Julian). Credit: UCLA Film & Television Archive. Photographs of the nitrate print by Barbara Flueckiger.
Credit: Images courtesy of the Margaret Herrick Library. Photograph by Barbara Flueckiger.
Source: Coe, Brian (1981): The History of Movie Photography. Westfield, N.J.: Eastview Editions.
Apparently test pieces, these clippings may well be the oldest surviving samples of the process in existence. Ruedel (2009: 55). Credit: George Eastman House Motion Picture Department Collection. Source: Ruedel, Ulrich (2009): The Technicolor Notebooks at the George Eastman House. In: Film History, Volume 21, Number 1, 2009, pp. 47-60.
Apparently test pieces, these clippings may well be the oldest surviving samples of the process in existence. Ruedel (2009: 55); color reconstruction of the images shown above. Credit: George Eastman House Motion Picture Department Collection. Source: Ruedel, Ulrich (2009): The Technicolor Notebooks at the George Eastman House. In: Film History, Volume 21, Number 1, 2009, pp. 47-60.
Apparently test pieces, these clippings may well be the oldest surviving samples of the process in existence. Ruedel (2009: 55). Credit: George Eastman House Motion Picture Department Collection. Source: Ruedel, Ulrich (2009): The Technicolor Notebooks at the George Eastman House. In: Film History, Volume 21, Number 1, 2009, pp. 47-60.
Arrangement of the two records on the camera negative. Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress.
Film: Stage Struck (USA 1925, Allan Dwan). Credit: Nitrate Frame Collection. George Eastman House Moving Image Collection. Photograph by Barbara Flueckiger.
Film: Irene (USA 1926, Alfred E. Green). Credit: Nitrate Frame Collection. George Eastman House Moving Image Collection. Photograph by Barbara Flueckiger.
Film: Irene (USA 1926, Alfred E. Green). Credit: Library of Congress. Photograph by Barbara Flueckiger.
Film: Irene (USA 1926, Alfred E. Green). Credit: Library of Congress. Photograph by Barbara Flueckiger.
Film: Irene (USA 1926, Alfred E. Green). Credit: Library of Congress. Photograph by Barbara Flueckiger.
Film: Irene (USA 1926, Alfred E. Green). Credit: Library of Congress. Photograph by Barbara Flueckiger.
Film: Irene (USA 1926, Alfred E. Green). Credit: Library of Congress. Photograph by Barbara Flueckiger.

133 Images in 8 Galleries

Colorcraft

1922

|

(Colorcraft)

Additive 2 color: Bi-pack, double-coated

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Russian Ideas in Clothes! (USA 1922). Credit: UCLA Film & Television Archive. Photographs of the nitrate print by Barbara Flueckiger.

21 Images in 1 Gallery

Horst

1924

|

Ludwig Horst senior

Additive 3 color: Beam-splitter, 65 mm negative

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Source: Coe, Brian (1981): The History of Movie Photography. Westfield, N.J.: Eastview Editions.

4 Images in 1 Gallery

Auto Natural Color / Bernardi

1925

|

Anthony Bernardi and P.L. Burger

Additive 3 color: Beam-splitter, substandard

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Technic-Colour

1925

|

(Technic-Colour)

Subtractive 2 color: Beam-splitter, duplitized

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Cinecolor additive 2 color / Cinecolour

1925

|

D. Daponte, S.J. Cox, Adam Hilger Ltd. and J.H. Dowell (Cinecolor)

Additive 2 color: Beam-splitter, substandard

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Source: Klein, Adrian Bernhard (Cornwell-Clyne) (1940): Colour Cinematography. Boston: American Photographic Pub. Co.
Source: Klein, Adrian Bernhard (Cornwell-Clyne) (1940): Colour Cinematography. Boston: American Photographic Pub. Co.

2 Images

Busch Farbenfilm

1926

|

Emil Busch (Busch, Rathenow)

|

Germany

Additive 2 color: Beam-splitter, red-green

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Credit: Gert Koshofer Collection. Photograph by Barbara Flueckiger.
Source: Klein, Adrian Bernhard (Cornwell-Clyne) (1940): Colour Cinematography. Boston: American Photographic Pub. Co.
Source: Eggert, John (1932): Kurzer Überblick über den Stand der Farbenkinematographie. Bericht über den VIII. Internationalen Kongress für wissenschaftliche und angewandte Photographie, Dresden 1931, pp. 214-222. Leipzig: J. A. Barth.

5 Images in 1 Gallery

Color Cinema Corporation

1927

|

(Color Cinema Corporation)

Subtractive 2 color: Bi-pack, double-coated

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Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress.

2 Images

Multicolor

1928

|

(Multicolor)

Subtractive 2 color: Bi-pack, duplitized

“In the Multicolor (two-color) subtractive process, two negative films are run simultaneously through any standard camera with their emulsion surfaces in contact. The front negative is orthochromatic, with the surface layer dyed orange-red to ...

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Iridescence on Multicolor print, reflection properties. Credit: Library of Congress. Photograph by Barbara Flueckiger
Magnification 20x. Credit: photomicrograph by Silvana Konermann.
Magnification 10x. Credit: photomicrograph by Silvana Konermann.
Magnification 5x. Credit: photomicrograph by Silvana Konermann.
Source: Eggert, John (1932): Kurzer Überblick über den Stand der Farbenkinematographie. Bericht über den VIII. Internationalen Kongress für wissenschaftliche und angewandte Photographie, Dresden 1931, pp. 214-222. Leipzig: J. A. Barth.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: Fox Movietone Follies of 1929.
Source: Coe, Brian (1981): The History of Movie Photography. Westfield, N.J.: Eastview Editions.
Source: Cornwell-Clyne, Adrian (1951): Colour Cinematography. London: Chapman & Hall.
Source: Cornwell-Clyne, Adrian (1951): Colour Cinematography. London: Chapman & Hall.
Credit: Illustration by Sarah Steinbacher, Multimedia & E-Learning-Services, University of Zurich. Source: Cornwell-Clyne, Adrian (1951): Colour Cinematography. London: Chapman & Hall.
Source: Eggert, John (1932): Kurzer Überblick über den Stand der Farbenkinematographie. Bericht über den VIII. Internationalen Kongress für wissenschaftliche und angewandte Photographie, Dresden 1931, pp. 214-222. Leipzig: J. A. Barth.
Magnification of an area. Source: Eggert, John (1932): Kurzer Überblick über den Stand der Farbenkinematographie. Bericht über den VIII. Internationalen Kongress für wissenschaftliche und angewandte Photographie, Dresden 1931, pp. 214-222. Leipzig: J. A. Barth.
Reflection properties. Source: Eggert, John (1932): Kurzer Überblick über den Stand der Farbenkinematographie. Bericht über den VIII. Internationalen Kongress für wissenschaftliche und angewandte Photographie, Dresden 1931, pp. 214-222. Leipzig: J. A. Barth.

72 Images in 6 Galleries

Splendicolor

1928

|

(Splendicolor)

Subtractive 3 color: Beam-splitter, double-coated film, bichromated gelatin, Pinatype

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Sirius

1929

|

Ludwig Horst (Sirius Kleuren Film Maatschappij)

Subtractive 2 color: Beam-splitter, double-coated

“The Dutch Sirius Color process (1929) used a camera with a beamsplitting system behind the lens to expose a single film, the film passing through two gates at right angles to each other. The double-coated print film was dye-toned. The process ...

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Magnification, 20x. Credit: photomicrograph by Silvana Konermann.
Magnification, 10x. Credit: Photomicrograph by Silvana Konermann.
Magnification, 5x. Credit: Photomicrograph by Silvana Konermann.
Source: Eggert, John (1932): Kurzer Überblick über den Stand der Farbenkinematographie. In: Bericht über den VIII. Internationalen Kongress für wissenschaftliche und angewandte Photographie, Dresden 1931, pp. 214-222. Leipzig: J. A. Barth.
Source: Eggert, John (1932): Kurzer Überblick über den Stand der Farbenkinematographie. Bericht über den VIII. Internationalen Kongress für wissenschaftliche und angewandte Photographie, pp. 214-222. Leipzig: J. A. Barth.
Magnification of an image area. Source: Eggert, John (1932): Kurzer Überblick über den Stand der Farbenkinematographie. Bericht über den VIII. Internationalen Kongress für wissenschaftliche und angewandte Photographie, pp. 214-222. Leipzig: J. A. Barth.
Reflection on the Sirius film, front. Source: Eggert, John (1932): Kurzer Überblick über den Stand der Farbenkinematographie. Bericht über den VIII. Internationalen Kongress für wissenschaftliche und angewandte Photographie, pp. 214-222. Leipzig: J. A. Barth.
Reflection on the Sirius film, back. Source: Eggert, John (1932): Kurzer Überblick über den Stand der Farbenkinematographie. Bericht über den VIII. Internationalen Kongress für wissenschaftliche und angewandte Photographie, pp. 214-222. Leipzig: J. A. Barth.

142 Images in 4 Galleries

Agfa bipack films

1929

|

(Agfa)

Subtractive 2 color: Bi-pack

AGFA BIPACK FILM The front film is orthochromatic and sensitive, therefore, to green and blue. The rear film is panchromatic and records red-orange only, there being a red-orange filter on the orthochromatic emulsion. In fact, this is a bipack of the ...

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Source: Klein, Adrian Bernhard (Cornwell-Clyne) (1940): Colour Cinematography. Boston: American Photographic Pub. Co.

11 Images in 1 Gallery

Harriscolor

1929

|

J.B. Harris, Jr.

Subtractive 2 color: Beam-splitter, single-coated

“Harriscolor In this method as in other methods of color photography, independent color value negatives are first obtained. The Harriscolor process can employ one of the following two methods: Either a camera wherein the dividing light prisms ...

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Credit: Technicolor Collection. George Eastman House Moving Image Department. Photograph by Barbara Flueckiger.
Credit: Technicolor Collection. George Eastman House Moving Image Department. Photograph by Barbara Flueckiger.
Credit: Technicolor Collection. George Eastman House Moving Image Department. Photograph by Barbara Flueckiger.

3 Images

Raycol

1929

|

Anthony Bernardi (Raycol Ltd.)

Additive 2 color: Beam-splitter, sawn-off lens

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Source: Klein, Adrian Bernhard (Cornwell-Clyne) (1940): Colour Cinematography. Boston: American Photographic Pub. Co.

13 Images in 1 Gallery

Allfarbenfilm

1930

Additive 3 color: Beam-splitter, substandard

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